Haven't posted in a while, which means things are going well. I met up with TJ on Sunday for lunch, which was nice. Had barbeque dinner at my parents' house on Monday for Memorial Day. On Tuesday, I went to work for a few hours, though I didn't have the stamina to put in a full day. The rest of the week has been without incident. I think from the whole ordeal, plus other "personal" matters, I've been a little emotionally drained. But overall, I guess I can't complain.
What can I say about LeBron James? I watched him beat the Pistons in double-overtime in Game 5 of their series, giving LeBron a 3-2 series lead. The guy was simply Jordan-esque tonight, and I don't see any way that he doesn't win Game 6 giving himself a 4-2 series win. (Notice I didn't mention his team anywhere. LeBron doesn't have teammates, and he doesn't need teammates. Seriously, he could win this series with me, Drew, Meals, and some random drunk guy playing the floor with him...) Detroit sucks. Cleveland sucks. LeBron rules.
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Cleveland Sucks!
Felt much better today, though still nowhere near 100%. I was able to get out and go to my parents' house (twice), as well as stop by Dana's parents' house. Still pretty weak, but no headaches, and not lightheaded. I didn't need naps throughout the day, and was able to do a little bit of work, and play poker for a couple of hours.
I have however noticed some "areas of interest" in my mouth. One of the side effects of chemotherapy is sores in the mouth. I had a severe problem with canker sores in high school, but I stopped drinking soda, and that made the problem go away. Well, I still vividly remember the feeling in my mouth when the sores were starting to develop, and I have that feeling on the inside of my lower lip. I'm rinsing my mouth with water and baking soda, as well as with "Biotine", a medicated mouth rinse recommended by the chemotherapy nurse. Hopefully that will stem the tide.
In the evening, I flipped back and forth between the Pistons/Cavaliers game, and the Tigers/Indians game. Unfortunately, both the Pistons and the Tigers lost. LeBron James took over the game for the Cavaliers. The fadeaway three he made with two minutes left was just sick, and the jumper over Rip Hamilton with 16 seconds left was a dagger. LeBron and the Cavs remind me of Jordan and the Bulls in 1990. I expect the Pistons to win this series, but I'm going to predict that Cleveland wins the NBA Title in 2008. You heard it here first!
I have however noticed some "areas of interest" in my mouth. One of the side effects of chemotherapy is sores in the mouth. I had a severe problem with canker sores in high school, but I stopped drinking soda, and that made the problem go away. Well, I still vividly remember the feeling in my mouth when the sores were starting to develop, and I have that feeling on the inside of my lower lip. I'm rinsing my mouth with water and baking soda, as well as with "Biotine", a medicated mouth rinse recommended by the chemotherapy nurse. Hopefully that will stem the tide.
In the evening, I flipped back and forth between the Pistons/Cavaliers game, and the Tigers/Indians game. Unfortunately, both the Pistons and the Tigers lost. LeBron James took over the game for the Cavaliers. The fadeaway three he made with two minutes left was just sick, and the jumper over Rip Hamilton with 16 seconds left was a dagger. LeBron and the Cavs remind me of Jordan and the Bulls in 1990. I expect the Pistons to win this series, but I'm going to predict that Cleveland wins the NBA Title in 2008. You heard it here first!
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Same Story
I was still struggling today. The headaches were gone, but I was still very fatigued, and very lightheaded. I wanted to push myself to get out and do something productive, but it just didn't happen. I spent most of the day (again) lying on the couch watching TV, napping periodically. I felt like such a bum, but everytime I stood up, I felt even worse. I told myself that this was it, and regardless of how I feel tomorrow, I'm forcing myself out of this spiral and getting out and doing *something* productive. Tim called me in the afternoon, and TJ is in town for his grandfather's birthday, so I am going to make arrangements on Sunday to see him.
Friday, May 25, 2007
Zero Energy
Today was another rough one. I had zero energy, and was light-headed the entire day. Luckily, the pounding headaches from the day before were gone. Once again, I spent most of the day prone on the couch. I tried to do a little work in the afternoon, but my mind couldn't focus, and I caught myself making some silly mistakes. I was certainly emotionally drained, too. I found myself feeling a bit depressed, so I need to make sure to keep my emotional status in check.
Overall, I really shouldn't complain, though. My only side effects have been fatigue, nausea, and headaches. There are many worse side effects out there that I have not had (knock on wood!), and I should be thankful that I am at least not in too much discomfort. My mom has been spoiling me, which I of course love. I'll power my way through this, and be good and ready for hockey season in October.
Overall, I really shouldn't complain, though. My only side effects have been fatigue, nausea, and headaches. There are many worse side effects out there that I have not had (knock on wood!), and I should be thankful that I am at least not in too much discomfort. My mom has been spoiling me, which I of course love. I'll power my way through this, and be good and ready for hockey season in October.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Bummin' Around
Today was probably the worst day I've had since this whole ordeal began. I was absolutely exhausted and nauseous all day long. My back was killing me, and my head was pounding so much that I couldn't fall asleep. I felt like a bum spending all day laying on the couch, but I just didn't have the energy to get up and do anything. Luckily, my mom came over to make breakfast for me.
I got an early phone call from Erica Platt, seeing how I was doing. It was nice to hear from her, as we were able to relate on the NHL Playoffs. I'm still down from the Red Wings losing in the Western Conference Finals, while her Sabres were bumped out in the Eastern Finals by Ottawa.
Finally, around 4:30 PM, I sucked it up and got myself off the couch to take a shower and clean myself up. I walked out to my mailbox to try and give myself an infusion of fresh air. My dad came over at 5:00 with dinner to watch the Pistons game 2 against Cleveland. Though they didn't play well, the Pistons won again, going up 2-0 in the Eastern Conference Finals.
I got an early phone call from Erica Platt, seeing how I was doing. It was nice to hear from her, as we were able to relate on the NHL Playoffs. I'm still down from the Red Wings losing in the Western Conference Finals, while her Sabres were bumped out in the Eastern Finals by Ottawa.
Finally, around 4:30 PM, I sucked it up and got myself off the couch to take a shower and clean myself up. I walked out to my mailbox to try and give myself an infusion of fresh air. My dad came over at 5:00 with dinner to watch the Pistons game 2 against Cleveland. Though they didn't play well, the Pistons won again, going up 2-0 in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Second Verse, Same as the First
Had my second session today. This one was in the afternoon. All went well, just as before. About halfway through, I started getting some really bad back spasms. Not quite sure what brought them on, but they lasted for about 15 minutes, then went away as quickly as they came on. Very strange...
Felt pretty good for most of the evening. Played some poker (not my best session ever) and did a little bit of work. About 8:30 PM I started feeling pretty crappy. I got very nauseous, and my head started pounding. I took some Phenergan for the nausea, and went to sleep around 9:30. All in all, though, I don't think I can complain about how the evening went.
Felt pretty good for most of the evening. Played some poker (not my best session ever) and did a little bit of work. About 8:30 PM I started feeling pretty crappy. I got very nauseous, and my head started pounding. I took some Phenergan for the nausea, and went to sleep around 9:30. All in all, though, I don't think I can complain about how the evening went.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
GG Wings
Even though this is the eve of my next chemo session, this post has nothing to do with my health. Instead I want to reflect back on the Red Wings season. We lost game 6 of the series 4-3 to Anaheim, falling in the Western Conference Finals 4 games to 2. We certainly had a valiant effort, as we were down 4-1 with nine minutes to go in the game, and rallied, putting the Ducks back on their heels. We just simply ran out of time.
Way back in October, I went with Wooley and Drew to a Red Wings/Sharks game in San Jose. The Sharks dominated the game, winning 5-1 and dropping the Wings to 3-6-1 on the season. I commented to the boys that the Wings seemed to lack any continuity on offense, and reminded me of the Minnesota Wild - we'd win some games with our defense and goaltending, but likely wouldn't be able to score enough to make a legitimate run at the Stanley Cup.
Well, the Wings got a little bit of a run going. They got the power play clicking, and the Datsyuk/Zetterberg/Holmstrom line started rolling. I still had my doubts, but we were playing well (especially at home) and I was enjoying the ride. Dom Hasek stayed healthy, and when we swept a home-and-home with Nashville in early March, I knew we could do something special. Part of me wanted us to finish second in the West, though, as I didn't want any piece of Calgary in the first round. Well, we won the West, and tied Buffalo for best record overall...and along with it a date with the Flames in the first round.
Even though we were the #1 seed, and Calgary the #8, our history of first round failures were weighing heavily on us, and the so-called "experts" were split on how the series would turn out, but we outplayed them in every game, and registered the most lopsided six-game series I'd ever seen. We followed that up with a hard-fought six-game series win over San Jose in another series the "experts" labeled us as underdogs. And though we fell short against Anaheim, we outplayed them in four of the six games, and would have won game 6 had there been three or four more minutes on the clock...
This season has been up and down, and I can't hide the disappointment in the loss tonight. That being said, after a few days of grieving, I will be able to look back and realize what a successful season this was. Sports Illustrated predicted us fifth in the west. ESPN sixth. TSN said we would be lucky to make the playoffs! I have been spoiled over the last 15 years, with all of the Stanley Cups, and President's Trophies. But as it stands, we get to raise another Division Championship Banner to the rafters of the Joe, and can say we were one of the last three teams standing after seven and a half grueling months. And with Datsyuk and Maltby re-signed, and Hasek saying he wants to come back for one more year, there's no reason not to expect to see the Wings playing into the Conference Finals again.
Way back in October, I went with Wooley and Drew to a Red Wings/Sharks game in San Jose. The Sharks dominated the game, winning 5-1 and dropping the Wings to 3-6-1 on the season. I commented to the boys that the Wings seemed to lack any continuity on offense, and reminded me of the Minnesota Wild - we'd win some games with our defense and goaltending, but likely wouldn't be able to score enough to make a legitimate run at the Stanley Cup.
Well, the Wings got a little bit of a run going. They got the power play clicking, and the Datsyuk/Zetterberg/Holmstrom line started rolling. I still had my doubts, but we were playing well (especially at home) and I was enjoying the ride. Dom Hasek stayed healthy, and when we swept a home-and-home with Nashville in early March, I knew we could do something special. Part of me wanted us to finish second in the West, though, as I didn't want any piece of Calgary in the first round. Well, we won the West, and tied Buffalo for best record overall...and along with it a date with the Flames in the first round.
Even though we were the #1 seed, and Calgary the #8, our history of first round failures were weighing heavily on us, and the so-called "experts" were split on how the series would turn out, but we outplayed them in every game, and registered the most lopsided six-game series I'd ever seen. We followed that up with a hard-fought six-game series win over San Jose in another series the "experts" labeled us as underdogs. And though we fell short against Anaheim, we outplayed them in four of the six games, and would have won game 6 had there been three or four more minutes on the clock...
This season has been up and down, and I can't hide the disappointment in the loss tonight. That being said, after a few days of grieving, I will be able to look back and realize what a successful season this was. Sports Illustrated predicted us fifth in the west. ESPN sixth. TSN said we would be lucky to make the playoffs! I have been spoiled over the last 15 years, with all of the Stanley Cups, and President's Trophies. But as it stands, we get to raise another Division Championship Banner to the rafters of the Joe, and can say we were one of the last three teams standing after seven and a half grueling months. And with Datsyuk and Maltby re-signed, and Hasek saying he wants to come back for one more year, there's no reason not to expect to see the Wings playing into the Conference Finals again.
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